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Battle for Mosul: Iraqi forces claim gains against ISIL

Iraqi Kurdistan president says 200 sq km area near Mosul is "liberated", but warns the armed group's threat is not over.

18 Oct 2016 08:41 GMT

A joint operation carried out by Iraqi forces and Kurdish Peshmerga troops has "liberated" a 200 sq km area around Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani said.

Barzani made the announcement on Monday, following the launch of a major operation to free Iraq's second largest city from the armed group, which has held it since 2014.

"Today is a turning point in the war against terrorism. This is the first time that Peshmerga forces and Iraqi army have cooperated and fought in the same area," Barzani said during a press conference near Mosul.

- ISIL media wing releases a video showing their fighters blowing up an Iraqi tank near the al-Qayyarah roundabout in south Mosul.

- The Iraqi defence ministry releases a video, urging residents of Mosul to revolt against ISIL and facilitate the security forces' operations.

- The Pentagon says Iraqi forces are meeting objectives and are ahead of schedule on the first day of the offensive to retake Mosul.

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will play a role in the US-backed Iraqi offensive to recapture Mosul from ISIL.

- France says defence ministers from the international coalition fighting ISIL in Mosul and elsewhere in Iraq and Syria will meet in Paris on October 25.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman of the US forces, said the US carried out air strikes in Mosul "to soften up" the areas controlled by ISIL, allowing Iraqi forces to advance.

"We do provide our intelligence capability, we provide our logistics, these are capabilities that the coalition has that are singularly distinctive. We are very capable in these areas, and it is a big help to the Iraqis as they move into position," he said.

"The plan is for the Iraqis to liberate Mosul, They are going to be the ones that will move in to the city," he said.

Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from northern Iraq, said at least nine villages had been retaken from ISIL, but two key areas along the highway between Erbil and Mosul were still being disputed.

"We are hearing intensive gunfire going on as the Peshmerga are trying to advance," she said, adding that Peshmerga forces reported incidents of suicide attacks carried out by ISIL fighters.

She said at least five Peshmerga soldiers and one Iraqi army soldier were killed in the operation on Monday.

"It's in the very early days and it is going to be a long fight. It is not going to be easy," she said.

Our correspondent also said that while it is significant that Iraqi forces and Peshmerga fighters are fighting together against ISIL, differences remain as to which of the competing groups would take control of the disputed areas after they are recaptured.

"With many different factions and groups with their own interests, Mosul highlights again that the political plan has not been put in place yet after ISIL is gone," our correspondent said.

The bid to retake Mosul on Monday comes after the military, backed by armed tribes, militias and US-led coalition air strikes, regained much of the territory the fighters seized in 2014 and 2015.

"We are proud to stand with you in this historic operation," Brett McGurk, US envoy to the coalition against ISIL, said on Twitter at the start of the Mosul offensive.

Ash Carter, the US defence secretary, called the operation a "defining moment" in the fight against ISIL.

"The United States and the rest of the international coalition stand ready to support Iraqi Security Forces, Peshmerga fighters, and the people of Iraq in the difficult fight ahead," he said in a statement.

"We are confident our Iraqi partners will prevail against our common enemy and free Mosul and the rest of Iraq from ISIL's hatred and brutality."